NBA.com Senior Writer Dave McMenamin recently spent a day with the Lakers' budding star, big man Andrew Bynum, who missed most of last season with a knee injury.

Bynum is looking to pick up where he left off last year and in his question-and-answer session, he addresses his health, playing with new frontcourt partner Pau Gasol and his goals for the 2008-09 sason.

Question: What does it mean to be the starting center on the Lakers?

ANDREW BYNUM: "It means a lot to me. It's always been a dream of mine to be a Laker. It's also been a dream to be one of the great centers mentioned. I just have a real great opportunity to go out and try to make it possible. I go out, I work hard every day, I do all sorts of workouts and things like that to prepare me for that. Basically man, it means the world to me to be the starting center for the Lakers. That's something I wanted to do and I just can't wait to go out there and kind of fulfill my duty."Q: With all you've accomplished already, is it hard to believe that you're only 20-years old?

AB: "It actually doesn't phase me because we've been fortunate enough to have a young team, so everybody around me is my age and we all do the same things."

Q: How hard was it to watch the playoffs from the sidelines last year?

AB: "It was terrible, man. No. 1, you always want to be out there and be able to help your teammates and to not be able to do that is terrible, especially when you see ways that you can help them, which is on the defensive end and kind of being a big presence out there, being able to alter shots and just make people think twice about waltzing in for easy attempts which is something that I think my biggest value is to the team. So, to not be able to go out and help when you see someone struggling is especially hard."